Decision makers

Enforce the CRT Rule

In 2006, USEPA amended its regulations and excluded CRTs and glass removed from CRTs from hazardous waste regulations if certain conditions are met.

One of those conditions requires that any CRT glass being stored must be in a fully enclosed building or outdoors in a closed package or vehicle. Another requires that 75% of CRT glass received by a facility in a calendar year must be recycled and not speculatively accumulated.

Although the EPA established these rules and requirements, it has chosen to turn a blind eye to the improper storage and massive stockpiling of CRT glass that is now being reported regularly and is sometimes in plain view.

In last month's e-Scrap News magazine's article entitled It's Complicated, an owner of an unpermitted facility in Arizona reported his facility receiving 'a truckload every hour', or the equivalent of between 160 and 480 tons every day (8 or 24 hours). Without operating costs, companies like these are undercutting legitimate CRT glass recyclers and putting their customers at great risk.

It is time that responsible recyclers tell the USEPA to enforce the CRT Rule and put an end to improper storage and speculative accumulation of CRT glass that is hurting responsible e-recycling businesses, depressing the market, damaging the reputation of the e-recycling industry and imperiling the environment.

This petition was delivered to:

USEPA AdministratorGina McCarthy

Letter to

USEPA AdministratorGina McCarthy

As a conscientious electronics recycler, my company spends thousands of dollars each year to comply with the USEPA regulations and third-party certification requirements that dictate responsible recycling. We do this because we are passionate about the environment and providing safe, secure e-recycling services to our customers.

The CRT Rule exempts CRTs from hazardous waste regulations only if the glass is properly stored in buildings or in enclosed containers and if it is not speculatively accumulated. Yet we continually hear reports of companies blatantly violating the CRT Rule with your agency seeming to turn a blind eye.

In last month’s e-Scrap News magazine, an article entitled It's Complicated once again reported on a number of companies without operating permits and with no operating capacity having tens of thousands of tons of glass in storage while continuing to receive truckloads of CRT glass “every hour”. Without operating costs, companies like these undercut legitimate CRT glass recyclers, depress the market and put their customers at great risk.

We ask that you uphold your responsibility to enforce laws governed by your agency and take immediate action to enforce the CRT Rule. Doing so will help stabilize the market and stimulate development of new recycling capacity that will preserve natural resources and protect human health and the environment.